Out of the Shadows: A Solangelo Fanfiction

Chapter 35: Missing Camper

   Will woke up to Austin shaking him. The sun hadn't quite come out yet, otherwise he would have been awake.

   Will rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and looked up at a panicking Austin. "What's going on? Why did you wake me up?"

   Austin twirled his cornrows. "Uh, I think you have to see this for yourself."

   Austin and Kayla lead Will to the Hermes cabin, which had a huge crowd around it. Nico was standing among them.

   "What's going on?" Will asked one of the Hermes kids, a girl named Alice.

   "I woke up 20 minutes ago to use the bathroom, and Cecil wasn't in his bed! I looked outside and called his name, I even asked other campers if they've seen him, but no one has!" The girl said, tears streaming down her face.

   Will was shocked. Cecil was missing? "When was the last time someone saw him?" He asked Alice.

   "Last night. We were going to bed, and he fell asleep first. Oh, poor Cecil! He could be dead for all we know!"

   A voice spoke up. "He's not dead." Everyone turned to face Nico.

   Will grinned. "That's right! Okay guys, Nico senses when mortals or demigods he cares about dies. Him and Cecil are friends, so he would know."

   Nico nodded. "He's not in any life threatening situations currently, either."

   The whole group of people seemed to exhale.

   Multiple people walked over to Nico and started patting him on the back or hugging him. Nico looked extremely uncomfortable.

   Will walked over and told everyone to give him space. Nico still looked freaked out, so Will silently slipped his hand in his. Will could see Drew give him a dirty look.

   "So then where is he?" Alice asked.

   Nico shrugged. "That's not something I can do. But I will tell you if anything changes."

   Just then, they all heard horse feet clomping on the ground. Will turned and saw Chiron approaching.

   "What is going on here?" He asked.

   Alice explained everything to him, including the fact that Nico could tell he was okay.

   Chiron scratched his beard. "That is quite disturbing. I'm afraid that sadly there is nothing we can do at the moment because of our communication issues. We will just have to wait for him to return."

   Many people sighed, but they all understood. Without being able to communicate, looking for Cecil might cause even worse problems, or cause more people to go missing.

   "That's enough standing around, everybody. Since you all have gotten an early start, it's time to do one of Harley's new training ideas."

   "Yeah!" Harley said, pumping a fist into the air. Everyone else groaned.

   Will couldn't stop worrying, though. Cecil was a good friend. He had never just...disappeared before.

   "Hey." Nico said, squeezing Will's hand. "Don't worry. We'll find him."

   Will nodded his head. "I really hope so."